4th-5th Grade History Learning Activity: Checks and Balances

The three branches of the United States federal government—legislative, executive and judicial—are set up in such a way that they prevent one another from gaining too much power. Each branch “checks” the others so that the power is balanced between them.

The first half of a detailed two-year survey of the history of the United States, this course takes students from the arrival of the first people in North America through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lessons integrate topics in geography, civics, and economics. Building on the award-winning series A History of US, the course guides students through critical episodes in the story of America. Students investigate Native American civilizations; follow the path of European exploration and colonization; assess the causes and consequences of the American Revolution; examine the Constitution and the growth of the new nation; and analyze what led to the Civil War and its aftermath.